Kaohly Her prepares to become St. Paul mayor
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Mayor-elect Kaohly Her and City Council Member Molly Coleman (right) had lunch with staff before touring Ward 4. Photo: Kyle Stokes/Axios
Mayor-elect Kaohly Her has been on a whirlwind tour of St. Paul in recent weeks, popping in almost everywhere — schools, libraries, rec centers and even a construction site — as she prepares to take office next month.
Why it matters: Her stunned two-term incumbent Melvin Carter by arguing his administration had become disengaged and unresponsive. Now, Her is working to connect with key constituencies she said Carter increasingly ignored.
- Carter disputes Her's critique, but acknowledged to Axios in his own exit interview that the argument was politically effective.
Driving the news: Her has played ping-pong with the Star Tribune's publisher; lunched with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey; tossed a coin at a Minnesota United match; cut a ribbon for Cossetta's; and met with business leaders, activists, residents and city officials.
What they're saying: "I've been quite impressed," St. Paul Area Chamber president B Kyle told Axios.
- Despite Her's busy transition schedule, "When you call her, she calls you back," Kyle said. "When you have a request, or a thoughtful suggestion, she's willing to listen."
The intrigue: Her has spent her transition learning, not selling an agenda.
- She has no plans to dive into major policy projects immediately, instead intending to focus on perfecting "the nuts and bolts" of city government and identifying "culture that has to change."
- "I'm so challenged when people say, 'What are the first five things you're going to do?'" the mayor-elect told Axios during her Ward 4 tour with City Council Member Molly Coleman.
Zoom out: Her's definition of "nuts and bolts" includes growing the city's tax base — a task at the heart of the monumental economic challenges Her inherits:
- Downtown St. Paul building values are cratering, development has slowed, and homeowners' property tax fatigue is rising.
Friction point: "The mayor-elect is declaring St. Paul's open for business," Kyle said. "It's going to take some time to assure the business community and development community that it is indeed the case."
The other side: Her will also have to overcome some of the skepticism that emerged during the campaign, such as her policy prescriptions being vague.
Between the lines: Her's staff sees potential for accumulating small wins quickly: "It's really hard to actually capture momentum with one giant thing that has nothing behind it," transition team staffer Nick Stumo-Langer said.
Zoom in: Her has relished digging into the nitty-gritty operational details in transition meetings with city officials.
- "Every conversation we've been in," Her said she asks: "What's your deferred maintenance? What are your outstanding costs? How do you generate revenues? What are places that we could be generating revenues that we are not?"
State of play: Her is still deciding who will staff her administration, and how she plans to organize City Hall.
- Her intends to retain department directors on a short-term trial basis while she determines whether they're a fit, spokesperson Matt Wagenius told Axios.
"I don't know if people don't do their job well … because the system and the structure they operate in doesn't facilitate them doing a good job," Her explained.
What's next: Her takes office on Jan. 2.
Go deeper: An exit interview with Melvin Carter